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<\/a><\/p>\nPresident Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House (Kent NISHIMURA \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Asked by a reporter in the White House if Trump\u2019s visit to Turkey on July 7-8 will be accompanied by \u201ca big gift bag,\u201d with the reporter noting that Ankara seeks F-110 jet engines and F-35s, the president replied: \u201cYeah, I think so. He\u2019s a member of NATO … I\u2019m going to probably do something that\u2019s going to make him very happy,\u201d referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t know how big Turkey is in terms of [its] military. They have a very strong military, because of [Erdo\u011fan],\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Asked about his expectations from the NATO leaders\u2019 summit in Ankara, Trump said that he probably would not have agreed to attend were it not for Erdo\u011fan\u2019s invitation.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Trump hailed Erdo\u011fan for being a \u201cstrong man\u201d and for doing \u201ceverything I\u2019ve ever asked him for.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further stated that he \u201clikes\u201d his Turkish counterpart, whom he called \u201ca friend of mine,\u201d adding, \u201cand he stayed out of the war, you know, he might have been a very strong candidate on the Iran side; because, as you know, he\u2019s not a big fan of Israel and I asked him to stay out, and he did stay out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exchange with reporters in the White House was held alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.<\/p>\n
Israeli-Turkish relations have taken a nosedive ever since Erdo\u011fan assumed the presidency in 2014. The Turkish leader, accused by political analysts of eroding the country\u2019s rule of law, restricting freedom of the press and imprisoning political opponents, has repeatedly expressed vehement anti-Israel views.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Erdo\u011fan after the latter accused the Jewish state of threatening regional stability, saying that Israeli \u201caggression\u201d poses a threat to the entire world and must be stopped.<\/p>\n